Allan Moscovitch

Allan Moscovitch is a Jewish Canadian who is a community activist with many years of involvement in anti-poverty, trade union and social service organizations. In recent years he has been an active member of the board of the Social Planning Council of Ottawa, and of Jewish Family Services where he was President. He is now the national Chair of the Association of Jewish Family and Child Services, Canadian branch. He is also a member of the Board of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa where he is the chair of the Allocations process. Since 1967, he has taken the view that Israel should not be engaged in the occupation of lands outside of its borders. In recent years he has become convinced there can be no end to the continuing conflict without a dialogue that allows both sides to come to an understanding of the other. For this reason he has supported the work of Israeli human rights and peace organizations. As a realist he is a supporter of peace and cooperation through a two state solution to the conflict.

Josh Zambrowsky

Josh Zambrowsky is a lawyer and criminologist whose career has been focussed on serving the needs of prisioners, the mentally ill and other disenfranchised citizens. His primary concern has been the protection of individual rights against encroachment by the state.

Mr. Zambrowsky believes that Middle East peace will not be achieved solely by the creation of a Palestinian state, but rather by the end of the politics of hate, largely promoted by fundamentalist forces on both sides.

 

Monzer Zimmo

Palestine-Canadian, born in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Palestine

Monzer is an activist Palestinian-Canadian who advocates the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the peaceful creation of one secular constitutional democracy, rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, over the whole of geographic Palestine, in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others feel at home, safe, secure, and equally respected. Monzer welcomes all other attempts to achieve justice-based peace in the Land of Canaan, and sees such attempts as steps on the right path towards achieving the ultimate objective of establishing sustainable peace for all that will be realized through the prevalence, and recognition, of the primacy of the human values of acceptance of the other, sharing, and respect; over all else.

Among Monzer's interests is his continuing work, with several Arab-Canadian, Palestinian-Canadian, multiethnic, multicultural, and other community-based organizations interested in the question of Palestine. Monzer has been an active member of the community for more than 25 years. He is the current president of the Canaanite Canadian Knowledge Centre, a past president of the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians, Capital Region (APAC), and a past director of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF).

Monzer is fully aware of the grave past, present, and indeed future sufferings on all sides that are characterizing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, he believes that persistent search for the common humanity, among Muslims, Jews, Christians, and others, will eventually lead to the realization of everyone's hope for the long lasting and sustainable peace for all.

Bahija Réghaï

Bahija Réghaï is a human rights and anti-racism activist who believes strongly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction." As she grew up, traveled and worked in North and West Africa, Europe and North America, she experienced first hand how people of diverse background do connect without prejudice, beyond religion, ethnicity and dogma. She takes interest in issues of equity and diversity and in Canadian public and foreign policy. The destructive effect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict she witnessed, not only within the region but beyond it, pushed her to educate herself on this issue. She found that the misunderstanding and misinformation that plague this conflict have effectively thwarted all peace attempts. She cooperates with Israeli, Jewish, Palestinian and Canadian civil societies to counter both, contributes to understanding between communities through dialogue, and promotes respect for international law and a just peace in the Middle East.